Best Bakery accused held for Ajmer blast

Investigations have revealed that the key accused in the Gujarat Best Bakery case played a major role in the Ajmer blast in 2007.

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Sudhanshu Mishra

Jaipur

November 4, 2010

UPDATED: November 4, 2010 18:51 IST

The main accused in the Gujarat Best Bakery case was one of the key conspirators in the 2007 Ajmer dargah blast, the Rajasthan Anti Terrorist Squad ( ATS) has revealed. Harshad Bhai Solanki was involved in the preparation of the bombs, collection of explosives and other essentials as well as packaging the bombs for transportation, ATS chief Kapil Garg said on Wednesday.

2007 Ajmer blast

The ATS had on Monday arrested Solanki, the key- accused in the 2002 Best Bakery case in Vadodara, which resulted in the deaths of 14 people. He is one of the four accused who had been absconding from April 2004. He has also co- nfessed to having led a crowd of about 500 that attacked the Vadodara's Best Bakery on March 1, 2002.

Solanki, a close associate of murdered RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi, was nabbed in Gujarat and brought to Ajmer on November 1, where a local court sent him in police remand till November 9. Joshi had been named in the October 22 chargesheet filed by the ATS in the case.

Solanki, who goes by several names, including Munna, Raj and Dari Bhai, confessed the details of his involvement during interrogation, Garg said.

" Though it will be against the interest of the investiga- tion to reveal Harshad's organisational links, it is true that all the conspirators of Ajmer blasts were linked, including RSS leader Indresh Kumar," Garg said.

He also revealed that Solanki was with Joshi as his active associate from December 2006 to December 29, 2007 when the RSS leader was shot dead in Devas, Madhya Pradesh.

Garg denied the RSS allegation that the Rajasthan ATS was acting under political influence to implicate the organisation. " We have investigated as professionals and will continue to do so. We go by the findings of the investigation and not by the political or religious affiliations of accused," he said.

Garg refused to reveal when Indresh Kumar would be interrogated, as it " would not be in the interest of the investigation". Garg emphatically denied any knowledge of why immediately after the Ajmer blast, the investigating agency had alleged involvement of the Harkat- ul- Jihad- al- Islami.

" I don't know why at that time the investigation was pursued in one direction and at whose instance," he said.

The saffron terror trail

A blast at the dargah of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishty in Ajmer on October 11, 2007 kills three persons and injured over 30.

Harshad Solanki, main accused in the Gujarat Best Bakery case, is named a key conspirator in the blast apart from senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar.

Solanki is arrested this November 1. Rajasthan ATS says he admitted to his role in blast.

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